Former Presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah speaks to the media during a press conference at his home on November 4, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Abdullah was the main opposition candidate but withdrew from the November 7th run-off, handing Mr Karzai a second term. Abdullah spoke to the media today to say that Karzai's government lacks legitimacy because of the controversial election process that declared Mr. Karzai the winner by default.
The U.S. concerns were heightened by the return from Turkey late Monday of Abdul Rashid Dostum, a notorious former communist general and a leader of the ethnic Uzbek minority who's alleged to have allowed the 2001 killing of as many as 2,000 Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners, then having their mass graves dug up and their remains hidden in 2008.
Dostum, who left for Turkey a year ago after allegedly beating a political rival and his family, last visited Kabul four days before the Aug. 20 presidential election as part of an alleged deal to deliver the votes of his large following to Karzai. Dostum, however, quickly left again for Turkey after the U.S. complained.
U.S. officials were concerned that Dostum's return late Monday - the same day that President Barack Obama pressed Karzai in a telephone call congratulating him on his re-election to crack down on high-level corruption - was a prelude to his appointment to the Afghan leader's new Cabinet.
"Dostum came back to cash in" said a U.S. defense official, who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.
But Karzai insisted, in his first news conference since he was certified on Monday as the winner of the election, that he'd move forcefully to eliminate corruption in his new administration.
"We have been tarnished with corruption, and we will continue to make every possible effort to wipe off this stain," Karzai said.
The Obama administration has identified corruption in the Karzai administration as a key problem undermining the eight-year-old war effort against the Taliban. Karzai has had uneasy relations with the administration, however, particularly as the Afghan president's campaign was accused of widespread voter fraud.
Many U.S. officials, Western diplomats and other experts fear that Karzai will award positions in the central and provincial governments to unsavory figures, including regional militia leaders and power brokers who oversaw the massive ballot box-stuffing on his behalf.
"I think the corruption and the failures in the system and the government cannot only be fixed through removal," Karzai said Tuesday. "There are rules, and there are regulations, and there are laws that need to be reformed."
One of the most controversial members of Karzai's new government, Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, stood next to the president at the news conference. Fahim, the first vice president-elect, has been accused of war crimes and dogged by allegations that he's tied to the drug trade.
Karzai "is too beholden to these types and he doesn't see it yet in his interest to remove them and start a clean government and be a genuine partner with the international community," said Rachel Reid, who monitors Afghanistan for U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.
"The next few days, weeks and months are almost more important than the election itself as we see who Karzai appoints to his new government," she said. "This will send the signal of whether we see a new kind of governing, a more credible form of governing, or whether Afghanistan will continue to spiral into further corruption and insecurity."
"It's not enough to blame Karzai," Reid continued. "The U.S. and other major players in Afghanistan are complicit in this impunity culture. They have relationships with many of the most notorious former warlords, current criminals and militia leaders. They have high-level meetings with them, they use their armed gangs to guard their bases, they invite them to the White House. They, too, must clean up their act, or they don't have a leg to stand on when they come to tell Karzai to change his allegiances."
Other figures of concern who provided critical support for Karzai's re-election include former Helmand province governor Sher Mohammad Akhundzada, who was found with 9 tons of drugs in 2005; Assadullah Khalid, a former governor of Kandahar province; and parliamentarian Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a former anti-Soviet guerrilla leader and hard-line Islamist linked to Osama bin Laden who's accused of war crimes and land theft.
Karzai also received considerable help from his brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, the main power in Kandahar, who's allegedly involved in drug trafficking and other abuses, but also reportedly receives payments from the CIA. He denies the allegations.
The U.S. defense official said there are concerns that Karzai may find himself in deep political trouble because he may be unable to keep all of the power-sharing promises he made to unsavory figures in return for votes.
"He can't deliver all the jobs he promised," the U.S. defense official said.
Karzai claimed a new term after his challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of a runoff election this Saturday over concerns that voter fraud also would mar the second round.
Karzai has never admitted that his campaign was involved in fraudulent activities during the first round Aug. 20, and he referred to those allegations again Tuesday as "defamation and disrespect."
He said he wanted to form "a government of unity, a government for all Afghan people," but he gave no specifics as to whom he might include or whether he'd back any of the changes that Abdullah sought, such as electing, rather than appointing, provincial governors.
Karzai also said he'd reach out to the Taliban and try to get them to renounce violence, but again he offered no specifics on how that might be done.
The Taliban have sought this week to generate a propaganda victory from the decision to scuttle the runoff and declare Karzai the winner.
"The cancellation of the runoff election shows that all decisions are made in Washington and London but announced in Afghanistan," said a statement released by the Taliban's Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Showing posts with label Abdullah Abdullah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abdullah Abdullah. Show all posts
Thursday, November 05, 2009
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY November 6, 2009 ~ U.S. Officials Fear President Hamid Karzai Can't Keep Anti-Corruption Pledge
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY November 6, 2009 ~ U.S. Officials Fear President Hamid Karzai Can't Keep Anti-Corruption Pledge
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - November 6, 2009: President Hamid Karzai vowed Tuesday that he would clean up his government in his second five-year term, but U.S. officials are worried that the Afghan leader will have to award key posts to ethnic warlords and regional power barons who are linked to drug trafficking in exchange for their help in his re-election.Former Presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah speaks to the media during a press conference at his home on November 4, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Abdullah was the main opposition candidate but withdrew from the November 7th run-off, handing Mr Karzai a second term. Abdullah spoke to the media today to say that Karzai's government lacks legitimacy because of the controversial election process that declared Mr. Karzai the winner by default.
The U.S. concerns were heightened by the return from Turkey late Monday of Abdul Rashid Dostum, a notorious former communist general and a leader of the ethnic Uzbek minority who's alleged to have allowed the 2001 killing of as many as 2,000 Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners, then having their mass graves dug up and their remains hidden in 2008.
Dostum, who left for Turkey a year ago after allegedly beating a political rival and his family, last visited Kabul four days before the Aug. 20 presidential election as part of an alleged deal to deliver the votes of his large following to Karzai. Dostum, however, quickly left again for Turkey after the U.S. complained.
U.S. officials were concerned that Dostum's return late Monday - the same day that President Barack Obama pressed Karzai in a telephone call congratulating him on his re-election to crack down on high-level corruption - was a prelude to his appointment to the Afghan leader's new Cabinet.
"Dostum came back to cash in" said a U.S. defense official, who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.
But Karzai insisted, in his first news conference since he was certified on Monday as the winner of the election, that he'd move forcefully to eliminate corruption in his new administration.
"We have been tarnished with corruption, and we will continue to make every possible effort to wipe off this stain," Karzai said.
The Obama administration has identified corruption in the Karzai administration as a key problem undermining the eight-year-old war effort against the Taliban. Karzai has had uneasy relations with the administration, however, particularly as the Afghan president's campaign was accused of widespread voter fraud.
Many U.S. officials, Western diplomats and other experts fear that Karzai will award positions in the central and provincial governments to unsavory figures, including regional militia leaders and power brokers who oversaw the massive ballot box-stuffing on his behalf.
"I think the corruption and the failures in the system and the government cannot only be fixed through removal," Karzai said Tuesday. "There are rules, and there are regulations, and there are laws that need to be reformed."
One of the most controversial members of Karzai's new government, Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, stood next to the president at the news conference. Fahim, the first vice president-elect, has been accused of war crimes and dogged by allegations that he's tied to the drug trade.
Karzai "is too beholden to these types and he doesn't see it yet in his interest to remove them and start a clean government and be a genuine partner with the international community," said Rachel Reid, who monitors Afghanistan for U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.
"The next few days, weeks and months are almost more important than the election itself as we see who Karzai appoints to his new government," she said. "This will send the signal of whether we see a new kind of governing, a more credible form of governing, or whether Afghanistan will continue to spiral into further corruption and insecurity."
"It's not enough to blame Karzai," Reid continued. "The U.S. and other major players in Afghanistan are complicit in this impunity culture. They have relationships with many of the most notorious former warlords, current criminals and militia leaders. They have high-level meetings with them, they use their armed gangs to guard their bases, they invite them to the White House. They, too, must clean up their act, or they don't have a leg to stand on when they come to tell Karzai to change his allegiances."
Other figures of concern who provided critical support for Karzai's re-election include former Helmand province governor Sher Mohammad Akhundzada, who was found with 9 tons of drugs in 2005; Assadullah Khalid, a former governor of Kandahar province; and parliamentarian Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a former anti-Soviet guerrilla leader and hard-line Islamist linked to Osama bin Laden who's accused of war crimes and land theft.
Karzai also received considerable help from his brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, the main power in Kandahar, who's allegedly involved in drug trafficking and other abuses, but also reportedly receives payments from the CIA. He denies the allegations.
The U.S. defense official said there are concerns that Karzai may find himself in deep political trouble because he may be unable to keep all of the power-sharing promises he made to unsavory figures in return for votes.
"He can't deliver all the jobs he promised," the U.S. defense official said.
Karzai claimed a new term after his challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of a runoff election this Saturday over concerns that voter fraud also would mar the second round.
Karzai has never admitted that his campaign was involved in fraudulent activities during the first round Aug. 20, and he referred to those allegations again Tuesday as "defamation and disrespect."
He said he wanted to form "a government of unity, a government for all Afghan people," but he gave no specifics as to whom he might include or whether he'd back any of the changes that Abdullah sought, such as electing, rather than appointing, provincial governors.
Karzai also said he'd reach out to the Taliban and try to get them to renounce violence, but again he offered no specifics on how that might be done.
The Taliban have sought this week to generate a propaganda victory from the decision to scuttle the runoff and declare Karzai the winner.
"The cancellation of the runoff election shows that all decisions are made in Washington and London but announced in Afghanistan," said a statement released by the Taliban's Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Former Presidential challenger Abdullah Abdullah speaks to the media during a press conference at his home on November 4, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Abdullah was the main opposition candidate but withdrew from the November 7th run-off, handing Mr Karzai a second term. Abdullah spoke to the media today to say that Karzai's government lacks legitimacy because of the controversial election process that declared Mr. Karzai the winner by default.
The U.S. concerns were heightened by the return from Turkey late Monday of Abdul Rashid Dostum, a notorious former communist general and a leader of the ethnic Uzbek minority who's alleged to have allowed the 2001 killing of as many as 2,000 Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners, then having their mass graves dug up and their remains hidden in 2008.
Dostum, who left for Turkey a year ago after allegedly beating a political rival and his family, last visited Kabul four days before the Aug. 20 presidential election as part of an alleged deal to deliver the votes of his large following to Karzai. Dostum, however, quickly left again for Turkey after the U.S. complained.
U.S. officials were concerned that Dostum's return late Monday - the same day that President Barack Obama pressed Karzai in a telephone call congratulating him on his re-election to crack down on high-level corruption - was a prelude to his appointment to the Afghan leader's new Cabinet.
"Dostum came back to cash in" said a U.S. defense official, who requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.
But Karzai insisted, in his first news conference since he was certified on Monday as the winner of the election, that he'd move forcefully to eliminate corruption in his new administration.
"We have been tarnished with corruption, and we will continue to make every possible effort to wipe off this stain," Karzai said.
The Obama administration has identified corruption in the Karzai administration as a key problem undermining the eight-year-old war effort against the Taliban. Karzai has had uneasy relations with the administration, however, particularly as the Afghan president's campaign was accused of widespread voter fraud.
Many U.S. officials, Western diplomats and other experts fear that Karzai will award positions in the central and provincial governments to unsavory figures, including regional militia leaders and power brokers who oversaw the massive ballot box-stuffing on his behalf.
"I think the corruption and the failures in the system and the government cannot only be fixed through removal," Karzai said Tuesday. "There are rules, and there are regulations, and there are laws that need to be reformed."
One of the most controversial members of Karzai's new government, Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, stood next to the president at the news conference. Fahim, the first vice president-elect, has been accused of war crimes and dogged by allegations that he's tied to the drug trade.
Karzai "is too beholden to these types and he doesn't see it yet in his interest to remove them and start a clean government and be a genuine partner with the international community," said Rachel Reid, who monitors Afghanistan for U.S.-based Human Rights Watch.
"The next few days, weeks and months are almost more important than the election itself as we see who Karzai appoints to his new government," she said. "This will send the signal of whether we see a new kind of governing, a more credible form of governing, or whether Afghanistan will continue to spiral into further corruption and insecurity."
"It's not enough to blame Karzai," Reid continued. "The U.S. and other major players in Afghanistan are complicit in this impunity culture. They have relationships with many of the most notorious former warlords, current criminals and militia leaders. They have high-level meetings with them, they use their armed gangs to guard their bases, they invite them to the White House. They, too, must clean up their act, or they don't have a leg to stand on when they come to tell Karzai to change his allegiances."
Other figures of concern who provided critical support for Karzai's re-election include former Helmand province governor Sher Mohammad Akhundzada, who was found with 9 tons of drugs in 2005; Assadullah Khalid, a former governor of Kandahar province; and parliamentarian Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a former anti-Soviet guerrilla leader and hard-line Islamist linked to Osama bin Laden who's accused of war crimes and land theft.
Karzai also received considerable help from his brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, the main power in Kandahar, who's allegedly involved in drug trafficking and other abuses, but also reportedly receives payments from the CIA. He denies the allegations.
The U.S. defense official said there are concerns that Karzai may find himself in deep political trouble because he may be unable to keep all of the power-sharing promises he made to unsavory figures in return for votes.
"He can't deliver all the jobs he promised," the U.S. defense official said.
Karzai claimed a new term after his challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of a runoff election this Saturday over concerns that voter fraud also would mar the second round.
Karzai has never admitted that his campaign was involved in fraudulent activities during the first round Aug. 20, and he referred to those allegations again Tuesday as "defamation and disrespect."
He said he wanted to form "a government of unity, a government for all Afghan people," but he gave no specifics as to whom he might include or whether he'd back any of the changes that Abdullah sought, such as electing, rather than appointing, provincial governors.
Karzai also said he'd reach out to the Taliban and try to get them to renounce violence, but again he offered no specifics on how that might be done.
The Taliban have sought this week to generate a propaganda victory from the decision to scuttle the runoff and declare Karzai the winner.
"The cancellation of the runoff election shows that all decisions are made in Washington and London but announced in Afghanistan," said a statement released by the Taliban's Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Monday, November 02, 2009
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY November 3, 2009 ~ US President Barack Obama Urges 'New Afghan Chapter'
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY November 3, 2009 ~ US President Barack Obama Urges 'New Afghan Chapter'
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) LONDON, UK / KABUL, Afghanistan - November 3, 2009: US President Barack Obama has urged Afghan leader Hamid Hamid Karzai to "write a new chapter" in governing Afghanistan, after its disputed presidential poll. Mr Obama said that in a phone call, he had also asked Mr Karzai to intensify efforts to eradicate corruption. 
Afghans watch as a helicopter picks up extra election material on November 2, 2009, in Takhar, Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai has been confirmed as President of Afghanistan for a second term today when the election run-off was cancelled after his sole rival Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from the race on Sunday. ~ Afghan police and Afghan National Army Air Corps help to carry election material from a helicopter on November 2, 2009, in Takhar, Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai has been confirmed as President of Afghanistan for a second term today when the election run-off was cancelled after his sole rival Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from the race on Sunday.
He was speaking after the Afghan president had been declared winner of August's fraud-marred election.
Earlier, poll officials scrapped a planned run-off following the withdrawal of Mr Karzai's challenger.
'Legitimate leader'
Mr Obama said he had congratulated Mr Karzai on his re-election.
He described the poll as "messy", but stressed that the final outcome was "in accordance with Afghan law".
Mr Obama said Mr Karzai "assured me that he understood the importance of this moment. But as I indicated to him, the proof is not going to be in words, it's going to be in deeds".
Mr Karzai was declared winner a day after sole challenger Abdullah Abdullah pulled out saying the run-off could not have been free or fair.
Mr Abdullah had demanded the removal of key poll officials after the first round, which had been marred by fraud.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters: "President Karzai has been declared the winner of the Afghan election... So obviously he's the legitimate leader of the country."
Earlier on Monday a spokesman for Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC), Azizullah Lodin, declared that President Karzai, "the only candidate for the second round", had been "elected president of Afghanistan".
He said the second round, scheduled for 7 November, was being scrapped to save money and for security reasons.
The Taliban, which carried out attacks across the country during the first round, had vowed to disrupt the polls again next Saturday.
Congratulations
President Karzai - who was first elected Afghan president in 2004 - had been the favourite to win another five-year term in the run-off.
One of the reasons for holding a deciding vote had been to try to restore some legitimacy to the process, after the discredited first round on 20 August.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon was among the dignitaries who congratulated Mr Karzai
A number of international figures, including US Senator John Kerry, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, had been involved in persuading Mr Karzai to accept a run-off.
However, Mr Brown on Monday said he welcomed the commission's decision.
A spokesman said the PM had "spoken to President Karzai to congratulate him on his re-election" and the two men had "discussed the importance of the president moving quickly to set out a unifying programme for the future of Afghanistan".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is in Kabul, also congratulated Mr Karzai.
He said Afghanistan's troubled election had been among "the most difficult the United Nations has ever supported".
The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Kabul says there had been intense discussion in recent days as to whether scrapping the second round would be constitutionally legal.
Some observers are saying Mr Karzai's legitimacy is also in question, and ask whether his government can be effective, adds our correspondent.
This would be a particular concern to President Obama as he considers whether to send up to 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
Hundreds of thousands of votes were discounted from August's first round, including almost a third of ballots cast for Mr Karzai.
The incumbent's share of the vote was cut to just under the crucial 50% plus one ballot threshold needed for outright victory, following an investigation by the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission.
Mr Abdullah had demanded key officials be removed from the IEC, which is widely regarded as pro-Karzai, ahead of any run-off vote.
Afghans watch as a helicopter picks up extra election material on November 2, 2009, in Takhar, Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai has been confirmed as President of Afghanistan for a second term today when the election run-off was cancelled after his sole rival Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from the race on Sunday. ~ Afghan police and Afghan National Army Air Corps help to carry election material from a helicopter on November 2, 2009, in Takhar, Afghanistan. Hamid Karzai has been confirmed as President of Afghanistan for a second term today when the election run-off was cancelled after his sole rival Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from the race on Sunday.
He was speaking after the Afghan president had been declared winner of August's fraud-marred election.
Earlier, poll officials scrapped a planned run-off following the withdrawal of Mr Karzai's challenger.
'Legitimate leader'
Mr Obama said he had congratulated Mr Karzai on his re-election.
He described the poll as "messy", but stressed that the final outcome was "in accordance with Afghan law".
Mr Obama said Mr Karzai "assured me that he understood the importance of this moment. But as I indicated to him, the proof is not going to be in words, it's going to be in deeds".
Mr Karzai was declared winner a day after sole challenger Abdullah Abdullah pulled out saying the run-off could not have been free or fair.
Mr Abdullah had demanded the removal of key poll officials after the first round, which had been marred by fraud.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters: "President Karzai has been declared the winner of the Afghan election... So obviously he's the legitimate leader of the country."
Earlier on Monday a spokesman for Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC), Azizullah Lodin, declared that President Karzai, "the only candidate for the second round", had been "elected president of Afghanistan".
He said the second round, scheduled for 7 November, was being scrapped to save money and for security reasons.
The Taliban, which carried out attacks across the country during the first round, had vowed to disrupt the polls again next Saturday.
Congratulations
President Karzai - who was first elected Afghan president in 2004 - had been the favourite to win another five-year term in the run-off.
One of the reasons for holding a deciding vote had been to try to restore some legitimacy to the process, after the discredited first round on 20 August.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon was among the dignitaries who congratulated Mr Karzai
A number of international figures, including US Senator John Kerry, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, had been involved in persuading Mr Karzai to accept a run-off.
However, Mr Brown on Monday said he welcomed the commission's decision.
A spokesman said the PM had "spoken to President Karzai to congratulate him on his re-election" and the two men had "discussed the importance of the president moving quickly to set out a unifying programme for the future of Afghanistan".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who is in Kabul, also congratulated Mr Karzai.
He said Afghanistan's troubled election had been among "the most difficult the United Nations has ever supported".
The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Kabul says there had been intense discussion in recent days as to whether scrapping the second round would be constitutionally legal.
Some observers are saying Mr Karzai's legitimacy is also in question, and ask whether his government can be effective, adds our correspondent.
This would be a particular concern to President Obama as he considers whether to send up to 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
Hundreds of thousands of votes were discounted from August's first round, including almost a third of ballots cast for Mr Karzai.
The incumbent's share of the vote was cut to just under the crucial 50% plus one ballot threshold needed for outright victory, following an investigation by the UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission.
Mr Abdullah had demanded key officials be removed from the IEC, which is widely regarded as pro-Karzai, ahead of any run-off vote.
A Tajik-Pashtun former eye surgeon and ex-foreign minister, Mr Abdullah was judged in the end to have won nearly a third of valid votes cast.
ANALYSIS
Paul Reynolds, world affairs correspondent, BBC News website 
The US and British governments let it be known that they regarded the result as legitimate and constitutional and that it reflected the will of the people.
Suddenly there was talk that the Afghans did not really want another vote, that they saw it as foreign meddling... However, the praise stopped there. There are conditions attached.
The first is that the Afghan government has to start taking a lead in security operations...
The international forces have to be seen as acting in support of the Afghan government and not the other way round.
*Karzai in favour, conditionally BBC
The US and British governments let it be known that they regarded the result as legitimate and constitutional and that it reflected the will of the people.
Suddenly there was talk that the Afghans did not really want another vote, that they saw it as foreign meddling... However, the praise stopped there. There are conditions attached.
The first is that the Afghan government has to start taking a lead in security operations...
The international forces have to be seen as acting in support of the Afghan government and not the other way round.
*Karzai in favour, conditionally BBCSunday, September 13, 2009
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY September 13, 2009 ~ President Hamid Karzai Holds Firm Lead In Disputed Vote
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY September 13, 2009 ~ President Hamid Karzai Holds Firm Lead In Disputed Vote
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI, India - September 13, 2009: Nearly complete but still preliminary - and controversial - results show Afghanistan's incumbent as the winner in the country's presidential election. 
An Afghan man rides on his bicycle past a poster of President Hamid Karzai in Kabul September 12, 2009. President Karzai remained headed for a single-round victory over his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah in partial results from last month's disputed presidential election released on Saturday.*
However, President Hamid Karzai is going to have a difficult time claiming a legitimate victory and his closest challenger is not ready to concede.In another trickle of preliminary results released by election commissioners, President Karzai retains his firm lead with more than 54 percent of the ballots.
Former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah has 28 percent. Out of the 5.8 million votes deemed valid so far, the incumbent has three million while the top challenger has just more than half that amount. Other candidates are far behind with about 95 percent of all ballots tallied.
United Nations spokesman Aleem Siddque in Kabul tells VOA News that it is premature, however, to judge the outcome."The game is far from over.
There are no winners in this election yet. There have been over 2,000 complaints made during this electoral process. And it's imperative that those complaints are thoroughly investigated before any provisional results can be finalized," said Siddque.
That means a resolution is weeks - or possibly, months, away. The U.N.-backed Electoral Complaints Commission may end up putting into quarantine hundreds of thousands of ballots until the major allegations stemming from the August 20 election are resolved.Asked at a press conference in Kabul why the criteria for quarantined votes has changed from 600 per ballot box to more than 1,000, chief electoral officer Daoud Ali Najafi says the ECC just made this decision and the Afghan government's Independent Election Commission agreed to it.
"Tomorrow morning the IEC (Independent Election Commission) and ECC will meet together to establish a procedure to implement the decision," he said.
A delay in the final vote count is raising fears of further instability in a country already divided by a Taliban insurgency and smoldering ethnic tensions. Staying in power, at least for the mean time, is President Karzai. He enjoys support from his fellow Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic group. Abdullah, of Tajik and Pashtun descent, is backed by Tajiks. If election authorities invalidate enough ballots to bring President Karzai's total below a majority then he and Abdullah would face each other in a run-off.
But that would have to happen quickly before snow fall would make many areas inaccessible for the winter. The political uncertainty comes as Afghanistan faces its worst violence since the invasion that ousted the Taliban in late 2001.
Officials say a roadside bomb in Uruzgan province, apparently meant to target Afghan and foreign troops, struck two passenger cars Saturday killing 14 civilians. Another such explosion in Kandahar province killed six civilians. Also in Kandahar two Taliban suicide bombers attacked a government intelligence office killing one agent.
In the northern part of Kunduz province, the U.S. military says, an overnight raid by Afghan and coalition forces killed 11 militants who were in possession of bomb-making material and rocket-propelled grenades.
Friday, September 11, 2009
DTN News: Taliban Presence Seen Across Almost All Afghanistan
DTN News: Taliban Presence Seen Across Almost All Afghanistan
*Source: DTN News / Reuters By Paul Tait
(NSI News Source Info) SINGAPORE - September 11, 2009: The Taliban have a significant presence in almost every corner of Afghanistan, data from a policy think tank showed on Thursday, as the country lurches into political uncertainty after a disputed presidential 
election.
A political standoff has deepened since the August 20 poll, with President Hamid Karzai defending the ballot as honest but a U.N.-backed election watchdog invalidating some votes and ordering a partial recount amid widespread accusations of fraud. (Image: Taliban militants are seen in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan in a photo released to Reuters May 9, 2009.)
The uncertainty coincides with the most violent period since the Taliban were toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in 2001, with record military and civilian deaths testing the resolve of U.S. and European leaders.
The election, initially hailed a success after the Taliban failed to disrupt it, has since become a major headache for Washington and a test of President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the militants and stabilize Afghanistan.
A security map by policy research group the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) however showed a deepening security crisis with substantial Taliban activity in at least 97 percent of the country.
The ICOS data, obtained by Reuters before its release on Thursday, painted an even darker picture than an Afghan government map last month that showed almost half of Afghanistan at either a high risk of attack or under "enemy control."
Based on reports of an average of one or more insurgent attacks a week since January 2009, it showed heavy Taliban activity across 80 percent of Afghanistan. A substantial Taliban presence -- one or more attacks per month -- was seen in another 17 percent of the country.
"DRAMATIC INCREASE"
A similar map released by ICOS researchers in Afghanistan late last year noted a permanent Taliban presence in 72 percent of the country and a substantial presence in another 21 percent.
In the most significant difference to previous security assessments, the latest ICOS map shows a heavy increase in areas of the north previously regarded as relatively safe such as Balkh and Kunduz provinces.
The Afghan government map, drawn up with the help of the United Nations and dated four months before the election, showed large areas of the north as either low- or medium-risk areas. "Across the north of Afghanistan, there has been a dramatic increase in the rate of insurgent attacks against international, Afghan government, and civilian targets," said ICOS policy analyst Alexander Jackson.
A NATO air strike in a Taliban-controlled area of Kunduz killed scores of people this month, angering many Afghans and adding to tensions between Kabul and Western countries with troops in Afghanistan.
The Taliban-led insurgency has grown this year out of traditional strongholds in the south and east and has even hit the capital, Kabul. Violence escalated further before the poll.
U.S. officials are debating whether to send even more troops to Afghanistan but uncertainty over the election results and accusations that Karzai's camp has been involved in widespread fraud have made relations even icier.
election.
A political standoff has deepened since the August 20 poll, with President Hamid Karzai defending the ballot as honest but a U.N.-backed election watchdog invalidating some votes and ordering a partial recount amid widespread accusations of fraud. (Image: Taliban militants are seen in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan in a photo released to Reuters May 9, 2009.)
The uncertainty coincides with the most violent period since the Taliban were toppled by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in 2001, with record military and civilian deaths testing the resolve of U.S. and European leaders.
The election, initially hailed a success after the Taliban failed to disrupt it, has since become a major headache for Washington and a test of President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the militants and stabilize Afghanistan.
A security map by policy research group the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) however showed a deepening security crisis with substantial Taliban activity in at least 97 percent of the country.
The ICOS data, obtained by Reuters before its release on Thursday, painted an even darker picture than an Afghan government map last month that showed almost half of Afghanistan at either a high risk of attack or under "enemy control."
Based on reports of an average of one or more insurgent attacks a week since January 2009, it showed heavy Taliban activity across 80 percent of Afghanistan. A substantial Taliban presence -- one or more attacks per month -- was seen in another 17 percent of the country.
"DRAMATIC INCREASE"
A similar map released by ICOS researchers in Afghanistan late last year noted a permanent Taliban presence in 72 percent of the country and a substantial presence in another 21 percent.
In the most significant difference to previous security assessments, the latest ICOS map shows a heavy increase in areas of the north previously regarded as relatively safe such as Balkh and Kunduz provinces.
The Afghan government map, drawn up with the help of the United Nations and dated four months before the election, showed large areas of the north as either low- or medium-risk areas. "Across the north of Afghanistan, there has been a dramatic increase in the rate of insurgent attacks against international, Afghan government, and civilian targets," said ICOS policy analyst Alexander Jackson.
A NATO air strike in a Taliban-controlled area of Kunduz killed scores of people this month, angering many Afghans and adding to tensions between Kabul and Western countries with troops in Afghanistan.
The Taliban-led insurgency has grown this year out of traditional strongholds in the south and east and has even hit the capital, Kabul. Violence escalated further before the poll.
U.S. officials are debating whether to send even more troops to Afghanistan but uncertainty over the election results and accusations that Karzai's camp has been involved in widespread fraud have made relations even icier.Preliminary results from about 92 percent of polling stations show Karzai has passed the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a second-round run-off against his main rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.
Abdullah has warned a fraudulent outcome "was a recipe for instability." A second round was due to be held on October 1 if needed, but that would now be almost impossible to stage before the onset of winter.
ICOS President Norine MacDonald said this meant a constitutional vacuum and "government paralysis" lasting months were possible.
(Editing by Alex Richardson)
Thursday, September 03, 2009
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY September 3, 2009 ~ President Hamid Karzai Extends Lead In Afghan Vote
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY September 3, 2009 ~ President Hamid Karzai Extends Lead In Afghan Vote
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - September 3, 2009: Latest Afghan vote count shows incumbent President Hamid Karzai 
strengthening the lead over his main rival Abdullah Abdullah in the recent presidential election. Figures released by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Wednesday showed Karzai getting 47.3 per cent of the vote.
But the incumbent president was still just shy of the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off in October.
This is while his main challenger and former foreign minister Abdullah has gained over 32 percent of the ballots. More than 60 percent of the ballots have been counted so far from Afghanistan's August 20 presidential election.
Results are being released daily; however, it can take several weeks before the official results are announced.
Abdullah has accused Karzai of a massive vote rigging and warned he would reject the result if fraud played a part in the outcome. Tribal leaders in the troubled southern provinces have accused officials of stuffing election boxes with thousands of ballots marked for incumbent Karzai, according to western press reports.
Abdullah said he would examine all legal avenues to counter 'state-engineered fraud'. Abdullah has been favored by the US and other western countries to win the election and seem to be bent on questioning the elections outcome if he does not win.
A similar approach was adopted when presidential elections in Iran did not turn our their way. The election in Afghanistan marks the second direct presidential vote held since US-led troops invaded the country eight years ago.
strengthening the lead over his main rival Abdullah Abdullah in the recent presidential election. Figures released by the Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Wednesday showed Karzai getting 47.3 per cent of the vote.
But the incumbent president was still just shy of the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off in October.
This is while his main challenger and former foreign minister Abdullah has gained over 32 percent of the ballots. More than 60 percent of the ballots have been counted so far from Afghanistan's August 20 presidential election.
Results are being released daily; however, it can take several weeks before the official results are announced.
Abdullah has accused Karzai of a massive vote rigging and warned he would reject the result if fraud played a part in the outcome. Tribal leaders in the troubled southern provinces have accused officials of stuffing election boxes with thousands of ballots marked for incumbent Karzai, according to western press reports.
Abdullah said he would examine all legal avenues to counter 'state-engineered fraud'. Abdullah has been favored by the US and other western countries to win the election and seem to be bent on questioning the elections outcome if he does not win.
A similar approach was adopted when presidential elections in Iran did not turn our their way. The election in Afghanistan marks the second direct presidential vote held since US-led troops invaded the country eight years ago.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY September 2, 2009 ~ Elections Last Chance To Resolve Afghan Conflict Says Experts
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY September 2, 2009 ~ Elections Last Chance To Resolve Afghan Conflict Says Experts
Top challenger Abdullah Abdullah against President Hamid Karzai in presidential race gestures as he meets Pashtun supporters from Southern Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009. Pashtuns from Southern Afghanistan rallied behind Abdullah at the meeting saying that there was widespread fraud in many southern districts where the local population could not come out to vote for fear of Taliban reprisals.
Analysts in Washington warn if the election is widely viewed as illegitimate, the Obama's administration's policy in Afghanistan would suffer a major setback.
As the votes continue to be tallied in Afghanistan, it is still not known if incumbent President Hamid Karzai will win outright - or face a second round against the probable runner-up, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.
But amidst the vote counting, the rising claims of fraud are clouding the election. The number of fraud claims have doubled since the August 20 vote - and resolving them could even delay the announcement of official results. Some Afghan experts in Washington say all this is raising questions about the credibility of election, which they consider crucial. The experts describe it as the last chance for the international community to put the country onto a democratic path.
Bruce Riedel at the Brookings Institution advises the Obama administration on Afghanistan. He says, "This really is a last chance. We have had three chances to get it right in Afghanistan. We have blown the previous two, in the 1990s and after 2001."
Riedel and others say if the Afghan government is considered illegitimate, there will be repercussions for NATO and on neighboring Pakistan. "That will reinforce their deeply held belief that we [the U.S.] are going to cut and run in Afghanistan sometime in two or three years and all they need to do is to wait us out and then their Taliban friends will take over at least half of the country," Riedel said.But for a long-term success in Afghanistan, the U.S. must focus on creating legitimate government institutions in that country, says Kimberly Kagan of the Institute for the Study of War. She says the coalition forces can help with that.
"The issue is that, as we saw in Iraq, that sometimes the coalition forces need to fill in when the indigenous government is not ready to perform all of the functions of building the state," she states.Restoring the Afghan people's faith in their government by defeating the insurgency is another key element, according to analysts. Kagan says one way to do this is to focus on small-scale economic projects to help alleviate poverty.
"So we really need to think about how to use military resources in order to create the immediate conditions for defeating the insurgency," she adds.Bruce Riedel agrees. He says it is crucial because the Obama administration inherited an under-resourced war, and now faces the difficult task of convincing the American people that its counter-insurgency strategy is working.
"This situation has deteriorated so far that there are really only two questions now," he says. "Can it be stabilized with any amount of resources or is it just too little too late?"
Experts say the outcome of the elections will provide the answer to those questions. If the two leading candidates get less than 50 percent of the votes there are two scenarios: Either the two men will cut a deal to share power or there will be a second-round election. The experts say a runoff will provide credibility to the faltering democratic process in Afghanistan, and will also demonstrate that the counter-insurgency strategy of the Obama administration is working.
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - September 2, 2009: The slow tally of Afghanistan's election returns and the mounting accusations of fraud are raising questions about credibility of the August 20 election.
Top challenger Abdullah Abdullah against President Hamid Karzai in presidential race gestures as he meets Pashtun supporters from Southern Afghanistan in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009. Pashtuns from Southern Afghanistan rallied behind Abdullah at the meeting saying that there was widespread fraud in many southern districts where the local population could not come out to vote for fear of Taliban reprisals.
Analysts in Washington warn if the election is widely viewed as illegitimate, the Obama's administration's policy in Afghanistan would suffer a major setback.
As the votes continue to be tallied in Afghanistan, it is still not known if incumbent President Hamid Karzai will win outright - or face a second round against the probable runner-up, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah.
But amidst the vote counting, the rising claims of fraud are clouding the election. The number of fraud claims have doubled since the August 20 vote - and resolving them could even delay the announcement of official results. Some Afghan experts in Washington say all this is raising questions about the credibility of election, which they consider crucial. The experts describe it as the last chance for the international community to put the country onto a democratic path.
Bruce Riedel at the Brookings Institution advises the Obama administration on Afghanistan. He says, "This really is a last chance. We have had three chances to get it right in Afghanistan. We have blown the previous two, in the 1990s and after 2001."
Riedel and others say if the Afghan government is considered illegitimate, there will be repercussions for NATO and on neighboring Pakistan. "That will reinforce their deeply held belief that we [the U.S.] are going to cut and run in Afghanistan sometime in two or three years and all they need to do is to wait us out and then their Taliban friends will take over at least half of the country," Riedel said.But for a long-term success in Afghanistan, the U.S. must focus on creating legitimate government institutions in that country, says Kimberly Kagan of the Institute for the Study of War. She says the coalition forces can help with that.
"The issue is that, as we saw in Iraq, that sometimes the coalition forces need to fill in when the indigenous government is not ready to perform all of the functions of building the state," she states.Restoring the Afghan people's faith in their government by defeating the insurgency is another key element, according to analysts. Kagan says one way to do this is to focus on small-scale economic projects to help alleviate poverty.
"So we really need to think about how to use military resources in order to create the immediate conditions for defeating the insurgency," she adds.Bruce Riedel agrees. He says it is crucial because the Obama administration inherited an under-resourced war, and now faces the difficult task of convincing the American people that its counter-insurgency strategy is working.
"This situation has deteriorated so far that there are really only two questions now," he says. "Can it be stabilized with any amount of resources or is it just too little too late?"
Experts say the outcome of the elections will provide the answer to those questions. If the two leading candidates get less than 50 percent of the votes there are two scenarios: Either the two men will cut a deal to share power or there will be a second-round election. The experts say a runoff will provide credibility to the faltering democratic process in Afghanistan, and will also demonstrate that the counter-insurgency strategy of the Obama administration is working.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY August 29, 2009 ~ In meeting with Richard Holbrooke, Afghan President Hamid Karzai Accused US Of Pushing For Runoff
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY August 29, 2009 ~ In meeting with Richard Holbrooke, Afghan President Hamid Karzai Accused US Of Pushing For Runoff
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - August 29, 2009: Afghan President Hamid Karzai angrily accused the United States of pushing for a runoff in the Afghan presidential election during a heated meeting with the special envoy to the region, officials familiar with the encounter said on Friday. 
Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks with Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, during a meeting at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The reported exchange was another sign of strains between the US and Afghan authorities. An Afghan lawmaker accused the US of violating international and Islamic law by firing on a clinic where a wounded Taliban commander had taken refuge. US officials said they attacked only after taking gunfire and determining there were no civilians inside.
The verbal exchange occurred the day after the August 20 election during a meeting in Kabul between Karzai and US special envoy to the region Richard Holbrooke, said two officials.
They said Karzai assured Holbrooke that he would accept the poll results, but bristled when the envoy asked if he would also agree to a runoff if none of the 36 candidates won over 50 per cent, officials said.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks with Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, during a meeting at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.
The reported exchange was another sign of strains between the US and Afghan authorities. An Afghan lawmaker accused the US of violating international and Islamic law by firing on a clinic where a wounded Taliban commander had taken refuge. US officials said they attacked only after taking gunfire and determining there were no civilians inside.
The verbal exchange occurred the day after the August 20 election during a meeting in Kabul between Karzai and US special envoy to the region Richard Holbrooke, said two officials.
They said Karzai assured Holbrooke that he would accept the poll results, but bristled when the envoy asked if he would also agree to a runoff if none of the 36 candidates won over 50 per cent, officials said. An angry Karzai accused the US of pushing the idea of a second round even before all the votes had been counted and he would accept the Election Commission’s tabulation as long as they reflected the facts.
The US Embassy confirmed the August 21 meeting and said the two discussed the election but would not go into details.
“There was no shouting and no one stormed out,” said Caitlin Hayden, an embassy spokeswoman. She noted that Holbrooke and Karzai met again a few days later.
“Whether there is a runoff is an issue for the Afghan electoral bodies to determine,” she added. Karzai’s office also confirmed the meeting but gave no further details.
“We are not discussing the contents of discussions that take place between the Afghan President and a foreign representative,” said spokesman for Hamid Karzai Humayun Hamidzada.
Friday, August 28, 2009
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY August 28, 2009 ~ Delay Further Muddies Confused Afghan Poll Picture
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY August 28, 2009 ~ Delay Further Muddies Confused Afghan Poll Picture
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - August 28, 2009: Afghan officials said on Thursday they had delayed releasing further results from the nation's disputed presidential poll, adding further confusion to a contest which appears headed for a second round.
An Afghan stands in front of a poster of President Hamid Karzai on August 27, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai extended his lead over his top challenger as new results slowly come out but he remains short of the 50 percent threshold that would allow him to avoid a Presidential runoff. An ongoing controversy over fraud threatens to discredit an election that the Obama administration considers a key step in a new strategy to turn back the Taliban insurgency. It could also delay formation of a new government and fuel growing doubts in the United States about whether its worth continuing to fight the war in Afghanistan.
Votes from about 17 percent of 27,000 polling stations have been counted so far, meaning results could swing wildly in the coming days. Preliminary final results are due on September 3, with the final tally about two weeks later.
Afghanistan has been in political limbo since the August 20 vote, with partial results released so far showing President Hamid Karzai leading his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, by about 43 percent to 34 percent.
Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) said only votes from provincial council elections, held concurrently with the presidential poll a week ago, would be counted on Thursday.
Adding to an already chaotic picture, computer software failures meant counting was going slower than expected, said IEC deputy head Zekria Barakzai.
The election is a major test for Karzai after eight years in power and for U.S. President Barack Obama, who has poured in thousands of extra troops as part of his new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and stabilize Afghanistan.
The picture will not become any clearer for at least two days, with no counting planned for Friday, a Muslim holiday.
"We will come up with new figures and information on Saturday," Barakzai told Reuters.
To avoid a potentially destabilising second round run-off in October, a candidate must win more than 50 percent of the vote.
The most likely outcome that can be gleaned from the partial election results released so far is that a run-off is likely, election observers say.
FOREIGN TROOP DEATHS HIT 300
Security in Afghanistan has deteriorated rapidly this year, with attacks reaching their worst levels since the austere Islamist Taliban were ousted by U.S.-led Afghan forces in 2001.
Violence spiked further in the weeks leading up to the poll, which the Taliban vowed to disrupt, testing Obama's new strategy and softening support for the war in the United States, but the election went ahead with relatively few attacks.
However, at least 43 people were killed in a huge truck bomb blast on Tuesday in southern Kandahar city, the worst incident of its kind in more than a year. The Taliban denied responsibility for the blast.
With civilian and military casualties at record levels, 2009 has become the deadliest year of the war for foreign troops.
Three hundred have been killed so far this year compared with 294 in 2008, the previous worst year of the war.
Another five members of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had been killed in separate incidents over the past three days, ISAF and the U.S. military said.
ISAF said in a statement 12 Taliban fighters had been killed during a raid, backed by attack helicopters, on a clinic in southeastern Paktika province on Wednesday during which a Taliban commander was detained.
The Taliban commander, known as Mullah Muslim, was being treated for wounds suffered in a gunbattle with Afghan forces on election day, it said. One ISAF soldier was killed during the raid, the statement said.
Two U.S. service members were killed on Wednesday, one in the east and the other in the violent south, home of the Taliban-led insurgency. One was killed by a roadside bomb, the deadliest weapon used by insurgents, and the other in a gunbattle, ISAF said in a separate statement.
Another U.S. soldier was killed during an firefight with insurgents after a patrol was hit by a roadside bomb in the south earlier on Thursday, ISAF said.
Another ISAF service member whose nationality was not released died on Tuesday of wounds suffered in a roadside bomb blast almost two weeks ago.
More than 30,000 extra U.S. troops have landed in Afghanistan this year, most part of a package of reinforcements ordered by Obama in May. More than 100,000 Western troops are now in the country, 63,000 of them Americans.
An Afghan stands in front of a poster of President Hamid Karzai on August 27, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. President Hamid Karzai extended his lead over his top challenger as new results slowly come out but he remains short of the 50 percent threshold that would allow him to avoid a Presidential runoff. An ongoing controversy over fraud threatens to discredit an election that the Obama administration considers a key step in a new strategy to turn back the Taliban insurgency. It could also delay formation of a new government and fuel growing doubts in the United States about whether its worth continuing to fight the war in Afghanistan.
Votes from about 17 percent of 27,000 polling stations have been counted so far, meaning results could swing wildly in the coming days. Preliminary final results are due on September 3, with the final tally about two weeks later.
Afghanistan has been in political limbo since the August 20 vote, with partial results released so far showing President Hamid Karzai leading his main rival, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, by about 43 percent to 34 percent.
Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) said only votes from provincial council elections, held concurrently with the presidential poll a week ago, would be counted on Thursday.
Adding to an already chaotic picture, computer software failures meant counting was going slower than expected, said IEC deputy head Zekria Barakzai.
The election is a major test for Karzai after eight years in power and for U.S. President Barack Obama, who has poured in thousands of extra troops as part of his new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and stabilize Afghanistan.
The picture will not become any clearer for at least two days, with no counting planned for Friday, a Muslim holiday.
"We will come up with new figures and information on Saturday," Barakzai told Reuters.
To avoid a potentially destabilising second round run-off in October, a candidate must win more than 50 percent of the vote.
The most likely outcome that can be gleaned from the partial election results released so far is that a run-off is likely, election observers say.
FOREIGN TROOP DEATHS HIT 300
Security in Afghanistan has deteriorated rapidly this year, with attacks reaching their worst levels since the austere Islamist Taliban were ousted by U.S.-led Afghan forces in 2001.
Violence spiked further in the weeks leading up to the poll, which the Taliban vowed to disrupt, testing Obama's new strategy and softening support for the war in the United States, but the election went ahead with relatively few attacks.
However, at least 43 people were killed in a huge truck bomb blast on Tuesday in southern Kandahar city, the worst incident of its kind in more than a year. The Taliban denied responsibility for the blast.
With civilian and military casualties at record levels, 2009 has become the deadliest year of the war for foreign troops.
Three hundred have been killed so far this year compared with 294 in 2008, the previous worst year of the war.
Another five members of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had been killed in separate incidents over the past three days, ISAF and the U.S. military said.
ISAF said in a statement 12 Taliban fighters had been killed during a raid, backed by attack helicopters, on a clinic in southeastern Paktika province on Wednesday during which a Taliban commander was detained.
The Taliban commander, known as Mullah Muslim, was being treated for wounds suffered in a gunbattle with Afghan forces on election day, it said. One ISAF soldier was killed during the raid, the statement said.
Two U.S. service members were killed on Wednesday, one in the east and the other in the violent south, home of the Taliban-led insurgency. One was killed by a roadside bomb, the deadliest weapon used by insurgents, and the other in a gunbattle, ISAF said in a separate statement.
Another U.S. soldier was killed during an firefight with insurgents after a patrol was hit by a roadside bomb in the south earlier on Thursday, ISAF said.
Another ISAF service member whose nationality was not released died on Tuesday of wounds suffered in a roadside bomb blast almost two weeks ago.
More than 30,000 extra U.S. troops have landed in Afghanistan this year, most part of a package of reinforcements ordered by Obama in May. More than 100,000 Western troops are now in the country, 63,000 of them Americans.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY August 26, 2009 ~ Results Show Afghan Election Too Close To Call
DTN News: Afghanistan TODAY August 26, 2009 ~ Results Show Afghan Election Too Close To Call
*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) KABUL, Afghanistan - August 26, 2009: The first partial results from Afghanistan's election had President Hamid Karzai and his main rival running neck-and-neck on Tuesday, suggesting a close race headed for a second round. 
Afghan electoral workers tally votes in the Independent Election Commission (IEC) centre on August 25, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Initial counts show that the incumbent President Hamid Karzai holding a small lead, while chief opponent Abullah Abdullah has charged that turnout figures were exagerated and that the elections had been subject to voting misconduct.
The country has been in political limbo since last Thursday's election, with Karzai and chief rival Abdullah Abdullah each claiming victory. Abdullah and other challengers have accused Karzai and the authorities of widespread fraud.
The elections are a major test for Karzai after eight years in power and for U.S. President Barack Obama, who has poured in thousands of extra troops as part of his new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and stabilise Afghanistan.
A relative lull in violence since the election was shattered later on Tuesday by a massive truck bomb in southern Kandahar city, the birth place of the Taliban, which killed 13 people and wounded over 30, hospital officials and police said.
A witness said the blast set fire to a restaurant and levelled a shop and three houses.
The blast also caused several cars to explode, leading one security source to initially say a series of simultaneous bombs had been detonated near buildings housing a Canadian development project, Afghan security forces and a Japanese contractor.
"The explosive materials were stored in a truck," said Kandahar deputy police chief Ahmed Shah.
There was no information immediately available on the nationality of the casualties. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the blast.
ENVOY URGES CAUTION
The partial election results, based on 10 percent of votes counted, gave Karzai a slight edge with 41 percent against 39 percent for Abdullah, his former foreign minister -- a difference of about 10,000 out of about 524,000 valid votes counted.
U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke urged caution, saying the early results were misleading.
"You don't call it with 10 percent ... it's too early to call," Holbrooke, who left Afghanistan on Monday, told reporters in Turkey.
The results also suggest a disappointing turnout of only around 5 million votes in a country of some 30 million people and an estimated 15 million eligible voters.
Taliban fighters had launched attacks and threatened reprisals against voters during Thursday's election, scaring many Afghans away from the polls, especially in the violent south.
"We will not allow big fraud to decide the outcome. There is no doubt state-crafted widespread fraud is underway," Abdullah told reporters before the results were released by the Independent Election Commission.
Abdullah said he had no plans to make a deal with Karzai to drop his bid for the presidency.
"I will not make deals with anybody ... I will defend your votes," he said. Asked if the election dispute could lead to violence, he added: "I hope not."
Karzai was not immediately available for comment.
Election officials have cautioned against drawing conclusions about the final count from the initial small samples. They promise to provide daily updates, but the complete count is not due until Sept 3.
Behind the two leaders, Ramazan Bashardost, a member of the Hazara ethnic minority who ran a quixotic campaign from a tent across the street from parliament, placed third with around 11 percent. Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani won 3 percent.
DEADLIEST YEAR
Four U.S. servicemen were killed by a roadside bomb in the south, NATO and the U.S. military said earlier on Tuesday, making 2009 the deadliest year for the growing contingent of foreign troops in eight years of war.
More than 30,000 extra U.S. troops arrived in Afghanistan this year, most part of a package of reinforcements ordered by Obama in May amid a growing Taliban insurgency.
There are now more than 100,000 Western troops in the country, 63,000 of them Americans.
The number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan this year stands at 295, according to icasualties.org, a website which compiles official figures. Last year, 294 died.
The U.S. reinforcements sent by Obama, along with a British contingent already deployed in the south, have advanced deep into formerly Taliban-held territory, taking heavy casualties mainly from roadside bombs. More Western troops have died since March than in the entire period from 2001-2004.
Karzai, who was installed in an international agreement after the Taliban were toppled in 2001 and who won the country's first presidential election in 2004, has been keen to win an outright majority and avoid a potentially destabilising run-off.
Afghan electoral workers tally votes in the Independent Election Commission (IEC) centre on August 25, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Initial counts show that the incumbent President Hamid Karzai holding a small lead, while chief opponent Abullah Abdullah has charged that turnout figures were exagerated and that the elections had been subject to voting misconduct.
The country has been in political limbo since last Thursday's election, with Karzai and chief rival Abdullah Abdullah each claiming victory. Abdullah and other challengers have accused Karzai and the authorities of widespread fraud.
The elections are a major test for Karzai after eight years in power and for U.S. President Barack Obama, who has poured in thousands of extra troops as part of his new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and stabilise Afghanistan.
A relative lull in violence since the election was shattered later on Tuesday by a massive truck bomb in southern Kandahar city, the birth place of the Taliban, which killed 13 people and wounded over 30, hospital officials and police said.
A witness said the blast set fire to a restaurant and levelled a shop and three houses.
The blast also caused several cars to explode, leading one security source to initially say a series of simultaneous bombs had been detonated near buildings housing a Canadian development project, Afghan security forces and a Japanese contractor.
"The explosive materials were stored in a truck," said Kandahar deputy police chief Ahmed Shah.
There was no information immediately available on the nationality of the casualties. A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the blast.
ENVOY URGES CAUTION
The partial election results, based on 10 percent of votes counted, gave Karzai a slight edge with 41 percent against 39 percent for Abdullah, his former foreign minister -- a difference of about 10,000 out of about 524,000 valid votes counted.
U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke urged caution, saying the early results were misleading.
"You don't call it with 10 percent ... it's too early to call," Holbrooke, who left Afghanistan on Monday, told reporters in Turkey.
The results also suggest a disappointing turnout of only around 5 million votes in a country of some 30 million people and an estimated 15 million eligible voters.
Taliban fighters had launched attacks and threatened reprisals against voters during Thursday's election, scaring many Afghans away from the polls, especially in the violent south.
"We will not allow big fraud to decide the outcome. There is no doubt state-crafted widespread fraud is underway," Abdullah told reporters before the results were released by the Independent Election Commission.
Abdullah said he had no plans to make a deal with Karzai to drop his bid for the presidency.
"I will not make deals with anybody ... I will defend your votes," he said. Asked if the election dispute could lead to violence, he added: "I hope not."
Karzai was not immediately available for comment.
Election officials have cautioned against drawing conclusions about the final count from the initial small samples. They promise to provide daily updates, but the complete count is not due until Sept 3.
Behind the two leaders, Ramazan Bashardost, a member of the Hazara ethnic minority who ran a quixotic campaign from a tent across the street from parliament, placed third with around 11 percent. Former finance minister Ashraf Ghani won 3 percent.
DEADLIEST YEAR
Four U.S. servicemen were killed by a roadside bomb in the south, NATO and the U.S. military said earlier on Tuesday, making 2009 the deadliest year for the growing contingent of foreign troops in eight years of war.
More than 30,000 extra U.S. troops arrived in Afghanistan this year, most part of a package of reinforcements ordered by Obama in May amid a growing Taliban insurgency.
There are now more than 100,000 Western troops in the country, 63,000 of them Americans.
The number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan this year stands at 295, according to icasualties.org, a website which compiles official figures. Last year, 294 died.
The U.S. reinforcements sent by Obama, along with a British contingent already deployed in the south, have advanced deep into formerly Taliban-held territory, taking heavy casualties mainly from roadside bombs. More Western troops have died since March than in the entire period from 2001-2004.
Karzai, who was installed in an international agreement after the Taliban were toppled in 2001 and who won the country's first presidential election in 2004, has been keen to win an outright majority and avoid a potentially destabilising run-off.
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